Officiating error acknowledged at end of Michigan State game

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) Big Ten Associate Commissioner Rick Boyages says an officiating error was made at the end of Michigan State's disputed win over Florida Gulf Coast on Sunday night.

Boyages says Monday an official started the clock improperly. After the mistake, Boyages says officials followed rules properly. He is the coordinator executive director of the Men's Basketball Collegiate Officiating Consortium, which oversees officiating in the Big Ten and five other conferences.

The Spartans, who fell from No. 13 to 24 in the Top 25 poll , held off the Eagles 78-77. Florida Gulf Coast threw a long inbounds pass from underneath its own basket with 1.6 seconds left and the clock started when the pass was thrown instead of when it was caught.

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